Cheese Scones

This is one of a few recipes that I got from doing home economics in school, so is one of the first things I cooked/baked. The mustard and pepper are optional, and along with the salt and cheese, you can experiment and vary the quantities of these ingredients to suit your own tastes. Diabetics may also appreciate this recipe as it has no added sugar.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 14-16

Ingredients

• 8  ounces self raising flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dry mustard (optional)
• 1  pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2  ounces  hard margarine
• 3  ounces  grated cheddar cheese
• 1  egg
• 4 -5  tablespoons milk

Directions

1. Sieve flour, salt, pepper and mustard together into a mixing bowl.
2. Cut the margarine into smaller blocks, and then rub in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Beat the egg and mix with the milk in a small basin.
4. Make a well in the centre of flour mixture, add the cheese (save a little to sprinkle over the scones) and pour in a bit of the egg and milk mixture at a time, mixing with a blunt knife, until you get a soft, but not sticky dough. If you find the mixture too dry, you can add some more milk.
5. Lightly flour the work surface so the dough doesn’t stick, and roll out the dough until it is about half an inch (1cm) thick.
6. Use a scone cutter (you can lightly dust it with flour to stop it from sticking) of a size of your choice and cut out the scones from the dough. You can keep gathering up the off-cuts and re-rolling it out until you use it all.
7. Place the scones on a greased baking tray, or on baking paper in the tray and brush the tops with milk and sprinkle on some cheese.
8. Bake at gas mark 8, 500 Fahrenheit or 250 Celsius for about 10 minutes, or until the tops have turned a golden brown.